Variety is key in the Science in the City (SitC) festival taking place at Fort St Elmo and St Dominic’s Theatre in Merchants Street, Valletta, on September 30 and October 1.
Internationally renowned science musician and comedian John Hinton, the latest in forensic tech and the laws of physics in a street sport show by the BMX riders of MSSA are just a few of the activities in store.
Jan-Marc Bleck, from the SitC 2022 team, said: “This year’s theme, Taking Root, means something different every time I think about it. It alludes to the plants and trees and the recognition that we need to take concrete action if we are to secure a future on this planet, a call to action if you like. It also refers to the concept of science and creativity being closely related, taking root in our society. The festival has been sowing the seeds of knowledge inspiring critical thinking for 10 years. We hope that these seeds are starting to take root.”
On September 30, between 6 and11pm, the festival will cater for visitors of all ages at Fort St Elmo. There will be gazing into the stars; peeping into the jaws of sharks; decoding genetics to eliminate the notion of race among human beings, thus proving that we are all equal by nature; communicating with robots; exploring artificial intelligence; waste biodiversity and much more.
Performances at St Dominic’s Theatre (below St Dominic's Basilica), which aim to be as educational and rife with messages of active citizenship as they are entertaining, will be staged on September 30 from 5 to11pm and on October 1 from 10am to 5pm and from 7 to 11pm.
Attendees may help a ‘solitary bee’ build its new home in a mixed media production with digital puppets and live theatre; experience how we can tackle the loss of biodiversity through a dance performance; and expect the unexpected, and expect it to rhyme with internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter John Hinton’s comedy science songs.
In addition to the main event in Valletta, there will be several satellite events spread over Malta.
Spazju Kreattiv will be hosting the creative puppet show Kids Dig Science which takes advantage of children’s desire to explore and discover, teaching them to solve problems in a creative way.
The megalithic Buġibba temple will be a special location for lectures, performances and a Poetry Open Mic, taking place on September 30 from 7 to 10pm and on October 1 from 2 to 5.30pm.
Meanwhile, Senglea will be the backdrop for an interactive street theatre performance that blurs the lines between the digital and real world, using a custom-made app on September 30 at 7pm.
Science in the City will end with an online festival on October 7.
To get an overview of all activities, stands and performances visit the Science in the City website.
Science in the City is part of the EU-wide celebration, European Researchers’ Night. It is co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme, under grant agreement No 101061120, the Arts Council Malta (ACM) and a number of corporate sponsors. It is recognised by Europe for Festivals and Festivals for Europe (EFFE).
The Science in the City consortium is led by the University of Malta and the Malta Chamber of Scientists, in partnership with the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, Trust Stamp Ltd, Malta Enterprise, MCAST, Qualia Analytics, Esplora, BPC International, SEM, PBS, Spazju Kreattiv, Aquabiotech, Valletta Design Cluster, Valletta Cultural Agency, Transport Malta, The Environment Resource Agency, WasteServ, Heritage Malta and More or Less Theatre.
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